Fall Apart
by notTamiTaylor
Summary: Elizabeth comes home upset at the end of Just Another Normal Day. Henry's POV as he helps her after a rough day. Just some Liz & Henry fluff because I can't get enough of them.


**This is my first attempt at Madam Secretary fanfiction, but certainly not my first attempt at fanfiction. It's just a one shot in Henry's POV after episode four where she comes home upset because of George's death. I absolutely love Tim &amp; T****é****a together and their characters are so well written. Let me know what you guys think! **

I watch as Liz's face contorts, the tears no longer able to stay inside. I'd been reminding her that it was okay to talk and cry about George, but she'd been so busy with her new job and the China treaty. She finally comes home, and my heart breaks as she fights with Stevie, but I smile watching her change and throw on a baggy sweater, backwards. She walks up to me, telling me she wants to talk about George. I nod, opening my arms for her to sit on my lap. She buries herself in my chest, and I gently rub her hip, "let it out babe, you can"

She sobs on me for a long time, but she needed a good cry, for both George and her predecessor. I rub her hip again, "what can I do babe? You're exhausted"

"That just comes with the job Henry"

I continue to rub her hip, "babe you haven't slept in four days, you just lost a friend, let me take care of you"

She concedes without much thought and I smile, kissing her. We head upstairs and she flops onto our bed. I sit by her, pulling her head into my lap, "what can I do? Anything you want, just tell me"

She sighs, "I really just want you to hold me"

I nod, pulling her close. She whimpers and I kiss her head again, "relax babe, I've got you"

She all but melts in my arms and not too much later, her hot tears have returned. I pull her closer, "oh babe, shhh"

She sniffles, and keeps crying. The thing about Bess is, she never cries. But every once in a while, it gets too much and her floodgates open. I never criticize her or make her feel bad about crying, because she's gotta express her emotions somehow.

She cries herself to sleep and it breaks my heart to see her so upset like this.

I pull a blanket around her and she nestles into me. I lay her down in bed to go make dinner for the kids. Noodle looks at me, "I thought mom came home?"

"She's asleep, she's been awake for four days straight, let's give her some space tonight" I explain.

Both kids nod and just as I'm setting the table, she comes downstairs with red, puffy eyes, her gray leggings, and she's fixed her backwards sweater. I smile at her, "hey babe, just in time for dinner"

A smile lights up her face, "I'm starved. And you made grilled chicken. You're the best" she kisses me on the cheek and grabs a big plate.

She puts on her brave face again with our kids and devours her dinner. She tries to talk to noodle but doesn't get very far before she storms off. I squeeze her shoulders as Jason helps us clean up. She drags herself to the couch and I sit by her, "Bess you're so drained. I want to take care of you tonight"

She leans on me and her blonde curls flatten into my shoulder. I know her mind is racing and her body is too worn down to keep up.

"What's on your mind babe?"

"Noodle. What happened with Stevie last night?" She yawned.

Henry sighed, rubbing her shoulder, "they had a fight. Stevie called her stupid. I'm not exactly sure"

She mumbles incoherently and an idea comes to mind, "Bess, how does a bubble bath sound?"

She looks at me with a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. I earn an approving nod and smile.

"Okay. You go on up and I'm just going to tell the kids"

I check in with Noodle and she sighs, but is okay with me spending some time with her mom.

When I walk into our bedroom, she's struggling to keep her eyes open. "Bess if you wanna skip the bath, you can just sleep"

She shakes her head, "I get alone time with my husband. Something that doesn't exist anymore."

"Alright babe" I start her bath and she yawns as we climb in.

She sighs happily as she nestles into me and the warm water instantly makes her body relax. She mumbles incoherently again and I kiss her head. I don't want to try anything sexual right now with her, she's just so physically exhausted that it just won't be pleasurable for her.

It takes her no time to fall asleep and I rub her back. I don't think she's showered in a few days so this has to feel good on her skin. I just watch her sleep against me, holding her close. I'm confident that her staff will cover all of her tasks until morning, because she just needs a night to rest.

I let her sleep for a few minutes before rubbing her back, low enough to get her attention. She whimpers and it just sounds sad. I hate waking her up but I want her to get cleaned up. "Babe I know you're sleepy, but I want you to actually take a bath, okay?"

"Do I get any help?" She smirks,

"If that's what you want" I smile, her playfulness is still in there somewhere.

I start to help her with her hair and she smiles, allowing me to massage her for a few minutes. She sits up and playfully splashes me with some water. I smile and splash her back. "Oh it's on" she smirks.

We play around in the water for a few minutes and she happily leans back on my chest, "how do you always know what I need?"

I hug her, "you're my wife, Bess. You know that I always make sure you're happy, and healthy"

She smiles and yawns, "I love you Henry McCord"

I kiss her, "I love you too, Bess"

She smiles and closes her eyes. I rub her back, "let's go to bed babe, you're exhausted"

I help her out of the cool water and she gives me her cute sleepy smile. I wrap her up in a warm towel and a hug, which she melts into. "Bed Liz, you need your sleep."

She pulls away and slips into her favorite pajamas, and crashes on the bed. "I need to go say goodnight to the kids. I haven't been home in four days"

I nod, watching her get up and drape a gray robe around herself, one that id given her for Christmas years ago. It's nearly two hours before she comes back, "I talked to Noodle, all I got was she hates Stevie, and some tears"

"It'll be okay Liz, it's been a hard four days" I reassure her, when in reality, I'm worried about our middle daughter.

Before she can even reply, she's curled up on her side, already sound asleep. I just smile, kiss her head, turn down her light, and kiss her forehead.


End file.
